Michel Venne Ordered to Serve Prison Time Following Sexual Assault Conviction

Michel Venne, a former journalist, has been ordered to surrender to prison authorities by September 3, following the confirmation of his conviction by the Court of Appeal. Venne will serve a six-month sentence for sexually assaulting Léa Clermont-Dion when she was a minor, aged 17, in 2008.

The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of guilt affirmed in 2021, dismissing claims from Venne’s legal team that the original trial judge, Stéphane Poulin, had made several significant errors in his judgment.

Judge Stephen W. Hamilton indicated that the original ruling was reasonable and that there were no grounds for appeal, stating, «the judgment rendered by the judge [of first instance] is reasonable and there is no need to intervene.»

The conviction stems from incidents during a professional trip to Quebec, where Venne, who was the founder and director of the Institut du Nouveau Monde, was accused of inappropriate behavior toward Clermont-Dion, a trainee at the time.

Following a taxi ride during which Venne allegedly touched Clermont-Dion inappropriately, a second incident occurred a few days later, where he attempted to touch her directly beneath her clothing.

Clermont-Dion publicly disclosed the assaults in November 2014 as part of the #AgressionNonDénoncée movement, and she officially filed a complaint against Venne in October 2017.

While the trial judge did dismiss some charges related to the taxi incident, the case ultimately resulted in a guilty verdict for the remaining allegations.